Corsair Scimitar MOBA Mouse Review

With MMOs and in particular the Dota-inspired MOBA games such as League of Legends gaining in popularity every year, it's no surprise that peripheral manufacturers are designing products to appeal to this expanding market. Corsair's MMO-focused mouse, the Vengeance M90, debuted in 2012 and lacks some of the latest features of the company's products. Enter the 17-button Scimitar RGB, aimed squarely at the MMO and MOBA market with enough macro keys to keep anyone happy.

The $99 Scimitar puts a huge number of customizable buttons at your thumbtip, and incorporates a feature Corsair is calling Key Slider that lets you move the wall of side buttons back and forth with 8mm of travel. The Scimitar looks relatively simple compared to other MMO mice, but Corsair has added some nice details. The yellow plastic frame around the keyset looks nice, and there's a standard black version available as well. Corsair originally introduced this color scheme with their VOID headsets, and it doesn’t appeal to everyone.

The Scimitar is huge and heavy, with its aluminum-reinforced body weighing in at nearly 150g, and feels very solid and balanced in the hand. The size of the Scimitar is something to take into account since users with small hands may find it challenging to wrap their palms around the body. Our large-palmed reviewer didn't have any trouble, but your mileage may vary.

The mouse's outer shell is coated with a soft rubber that is comfortable to use but, like other mice with a similar coating, begins to show wear with heavy use. The right-side grip is perfectly placed for your ring and pinky fingers, while two of the four columns of buttons on the left side have a texture that does a pretty good job of keeping your thumb stable. There isn't a thumb rest, because Corsair assumes anyone who buys a Scimitar will be putting their thumb to work. The high, curved design of the Scimitar fits snugly in your palm, making it comfortable if perhaps a little sweaty during those long gaming sessions. The design of the mouse and its side buttons mandates a palm grip, and there is no room for air to pass between your hand and the mouse.

The Scimitar packs a 12,000 DPI optical sensor, which is in the ludicrous range of sensitivity. Yet the option is there for those who need it, and the sensor is accurate and lag-free with instantaneous response. The mouse itself includes 17 programmable buttons, including the primary left, right and scroll-wheel buttons, two DPI shifts, and the 12 customizable side buttons. This is where the Key Slider comes in. For those who are having trouble reaching the side buttons, you can adjust the entire set either backwards or forwards to fit your style. Our reviewer shifted his all the ways forwards, but the customizability means the Scimitar will be attractive to a wider audience.

The primary left and right click buttons have a nice tactile response to them, as do the DPI shift buttons. Like many mice, the scroll wheel button requires a lot of pressure to press—a design decision that some gamers dislike immensely, while others appreciate for cutting down on mis-clicks. The scroll steps are well-defined. The dozen side buttons have decent feedback, but can feel mushy when a button is pressed.

The Scimitar features the RGB lighting that Corsair has been adding to all of its latest products, with four individually controllable lighting zones: the scroll wheel, the Corsair logo, around the side buttons, and small light on the front. You can customize these to the colour of your choice, and there is no latency between the lighting transitions and effects.

Corsair’s CUE Engine software is pretty straightforward. It allows you to program or remap all 17 buttons to your preference, customize the lighting effects of each of the zones, adjust the five different steps of DPI sensitivity, and fine-tune other aspects like the pointer speed, angle snapping and lift-off distance. All these settings are stored inside the microprocessor built inside the Scimitar, a nice feature we appreciate on any peripheral.

The Scimitar gave us mixed feelings overall. The soft rubber coating is comfortable, but doesn't seem like it would stand the test of time. The palm-hugging design, too, is nice, but the lack of airflow seems like it would inevitably lead to sweaty palms. The 12 side buttons are nice, although their responsiveness could be improved, and the Key Slider feature is a great addition. The lighting, which seems to work better than similar features from rival brands, also sets the Scimitar apart. In all, the comfort and the fit of the enormous Scimitar may come down to personal preference. And for the small but growing MOBA market, that may be enough.

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